Echinacea plant named &#39;Colorburst Orange&#39;

ABSTRACT

A new and distinct  Echinacea  plant named ‘Colorburst Orange’ characterized by clear orange ray and disc florets, very long disc florets forming an frilly double “anemone”-type inflorescence, very lobed ray florets making a frilly appearance, a medium short size and with excellent stem count and branching, and excellent vigor.

BOTANICAL DENOMINATION

Echinacea hybrid

VARIETY DESIGNATION

‘Colorburst Orange’

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Echinacea and given the cultivar name ‘Colorburst Orange’. Echinacea is in the family Asteraceae. The new cultivar is part of a planned breeding program for a series with compact habits and double “anemone”-type inflorescences. The exact parents of this selection are unknown, unnamed, proprietary interspecific hybrids of Echinacea paradoxa×Echinacea purpurea. The new cultivar stood out among the seedlings for its very long disc florets.

Compared to Echinacea ‘Supreme Cantaloupe’, U.S. Plant patent pending, the new cultivar is taller and has longer, frillier disc florets and a more mounding habit.

Compared to Echinacea ‘Marmalade’ (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 22,602) the new cultivar has inflorescences a different shade of orange, clear orange rather than yellow orange.

This new Echinacea cultivar is distinguished by:

-   -   1. clear orange ray and disc florets,     -   2. very long disc florets forming an frilly double         “anemone”-type inflorescence,     -   3. very lobed ray florets making a frilly appearance,     -   4. a medium short size and with excellent stem count and         branching, and     -   5. excellent vigor.

This new cultivar has been reproduced only by asexual propagation (division and tissue culture). Each of the progeny exhibits identical characteristics to the original plant. Asexual propagation by division and tissue culture using standard micropropagation techniques with terminal and lateral shoots, as done in Canby, Oreg., shows that the foregoing characteristics and distinctions come true to form and are established and transmitted through succeeding propagations. The present invention has not been evaluated under all possible environmental conditions. The phenotype may vary with variations in environment without a change in the genotype of the plant.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

FIG. 1 shows a two-year-old plant of Echinacea ‘Colorburst Orange’ growing in the trial bed in full sun in mid-July in Canby, Oreg.

DETAILED PLANT DESCRIPTION

The following is a detailed description of the new Echinacea cultivar based on observations of two-year-old specimens growing in the trial bed in full sun in Canby, Oreg. Canby is in Zone 8 on the USDA Hardiness map. Temperatures range from a high of 95 degrees F. in August to an average of 32 degrees F. in January. Normal rainfall in Canby is 42.8 inches per year in the trial fields in Canby, Oreg. The color descriptions are all based on The Royal Horticultural Society Colour Chart, 5^(th) edition.

-   Plant:     -   -   Type.—herbaceous perennial.         -   Hardiness.—USDA Zones 4 to 9.         -   Size.—grows to about 60 cm wide and 60 cm tall to top of             inflorescences.         -   Form.—basal clump, with about 20 stems from the base.         -   Vigor.—excellent.         -   Roots.—fibrous, with many downward growing and few laterals,             ivory in color, Yellow White 158D, roots develop easily from             cuttings from the crown. -   Stem (flowering):     -   -   Type.—ascending, with 1 to 3 inflorescences per stem.         -   Size.—to 56 cm tall to a terminal inflorescence and 8 mm             wide at base.         -   Internode length.—2 cm to 10 cm.         -   Surface texture.—strigose.         -   Color.—Yellow Green 146C. -   Leaf (basal):     -   -   Type.—simple.         -   Shape.—ovate to lanceolate.         -   Arrangement.—basal.         -   Blade size.—grows to 15.5 cm long and 6.5 cm wide.         -   Margins.—serrate.         -   Apex.—acuminate.         -   Base.—attenuate.         -   Surface texture.—strigose on both sides.         -   Venation.—pinnate, Yellow Green 145C on top and bottom side.         -   Color.—topside Green 137A, bottom side closest to Yellow             Green 147B.         -   Petiole description.—grows to 17 cm long and 2 mm wide above             the clasp, glabrous, Yellow Green 145C and tinted Greyed             Purple 187A at the base. -   Leaf (stem):     -   -   Type.—simple.         -   Shape.—lanceolate.         -   Arrangement.—alternate.         -   Blade size.—grows to 13 cm long and 4 cm wide.         -   Margins.—serrate.         -   Apex.—acuminate.         -   Base.—attenuate.         -   Surface texture.—strigose on both sides.         -   Venation.—pinnate, with 3 main veins from the base, Yellow             Green 145C on top and bottom side.         -   Color.—topside Green 137A, bottom side closest to Yellow             Green 147B.         -   Petiole description.—on all but upper leaves, clasping,             grows to 7.5 cm long and 4 mm wide above the clasp,             strigose, both sides Yellow Green 146D. -   Inflorescence:     -   -   Type.—composite on terminal stalked heads.         -   Number of flowering stems from the ground.—about 24.         -   Flowering stem.—grows to 56 cm tall from the base of the             plant to the terminal inflorescence and can grow to 13 cm             long from the top stem leaf to the base of an inflorescence;             branched with 1 to 3 inflorescences per stem; diameter             growing to 7 mm wide near the inflorescence; strigose;             Yellow Green 146C.         -   Size.—grows to 9 cm wide and 5 cm deep as disc enlarges.         -   Form.—ray florets held slightly reflexed, mature disc is             rounded.         -   Immature inflorescence.—grows to 3.5 cm wide and 2 cm deep,             ray florets held at a 45 degree angle from the horizontal             and rolled up so only the back color shows, Greyed Yellow             160B tinted Greyed Red 182C on bottom ⅔, disc color Yellow             Green 148A.         -   Ray florets.—with 1 pistil and 4 stamen, about 15 in number,             grow to 45 mm long and 9 mm to 30 mm wide, oblanceolate with             the tip variously lobed (2 to 5 lobed, usually 3 lobed with             lobes 6 mm to 27 mm long and 1.5 mm to 3 mm wide), tips             acute, entire margins, base attenuate, glabrous on both             sides; top side Orange 26B blending to Orange 26A at the             base, bottom side closest to Red 36A; pistil 11 mm long,             ovary 4 mm long, White NN155A on bottom ½ and Yellow Green             148C tinted Brown 200C on top ½, style 5 mm and Red 36D,             stigma Greyed Red 182C, anthers 4 mm long, filaments             threadlike 2 mm long Greyed White 159A, anthers 2 mm long,             sterile, Grey Brown N199B.         -   Disc.—flat becoming conic, growing to 30 mm deep and 75 mm             wide with maturity, Orange Red 35C when disc florets are             closed to Orange 26A when disc florets are open.         -   Disc florets.—to about 280 in number, each with 1 pistil and             4 stamen, grow to 27 mm long and 5 mm to 14 mm wide, each             with one persistent, very stiff linear bract (10.5 mm long             with 1 mm Greyed Purple 187A at the tip blending to 2 mm             Orange Red 31B to 5 mm Yellow Green 145D to White 155A at             base); corollas to 26 mm long and 5 mm to 14 mm wide,             tubular at base (2 mm to 4 mm long and 1.5 mm wide, 146C)             then obovate with tip 3 to 4 lobed (lobes variable, linear             to lanceolate, to 2 mm to 18 mm long and 1 mm to 3.5 mm             wide), margin entire, tips acute, base attenuate, glabrous             on both sides, topside Orange 31B, bottom side Greyed Red             182C on top ⅔ blending to Yellow 11C; pistil 12 mm long,             ovary 2.5 mm long, White NN155A, style 8 mm and Red 36D,             stigma Greyed Red 182C, anthers 5 mm long, filaments             threadlike 2 mm long Greyed White 159A, anthers 2 mm long,             sterile, Grey Brown N199B.         -   Phyllaries.—in 4 leafy series, area grows to 32 mm wide and             10 mm deep, lobes lanceolate in shape, reflexed, grow to 7             mm long and 3 mm wide, both sides Yellow Green 147B, margins             strigose, tip acute, strigose.         -   Receptacle.—grows to 9 mm wide and 9 mm deep, White NN155B.         -   Bloom period.—July through October in Canby, Oreg.         -   Fragrance.—slight.         -   Lastingness.—each inflorescence lasts about two weeks in             Canby, Oreg. -   Seeds: None seen     -   -   Fertility.—poor. -   Disease and pests: No pests or diseases have been observed on plants     grown under commercial conditions in Canby, Oreg. No resistances are     known. 

I claim:
 1. A new and distinct Echinacea plant as herein illustrated and described. 